Just like everyone else, high earners could benefit from investing in a pension – the tax relief makes pensions a tax-efficient way to invest for later in life. However, high earners need to be aware of how their income and tax band can affect the amount they can contribute to their pensions, and the potential amount of tax relief they can claim.
You can make pension contributions up to 100% of your yearly earnings or up to the annual allowance of £40,000, whichever is lower. However, if you’re a high earner, and your adjusted income is more than £240,000 a year, the tax relief you can get on contributions is limited to a reduced annual allowance, known as the tapered annual allowance.
If your threshold income is more than £200,000 and your adjusted income is more than £240,000, your annual allowance for that tax year will be tapered. A tapered allowance reduces proportionally according to your earnings – for every £2 of adjusted income over £240,000, your annual allowance will decrease by £1. The minimum tapered annual allowance is £4,000.
For most people, pension tax relief comes in the form of government top-ups on any contributions made equivalent to their income for the year, up to the annual allowance of £40,000. Even though this annual allowance is reduced for high earners, you can still benefit from generous tax-relief benefits.
Everybody is entitled to claim the basic 20% tax relief on their contributions. However, because the amount of tax relief you get is linked to the highest band of income tax you pay, higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers are able to claim extra tax relief on top of the basic 20%. Higher-rate taxpayers can claim a further 20%, while additional-rate taxpayers can claim an extra 25%.
So, if you’re an additional rate taxpayer, even at the minimum tapered annual allowance of £4,000, you could still get tax relief of £1,800 on contributions each tax year. Don’t miss out on these benefits – make sure you claim the additional relief through your tax return.
Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
Another way to benefit from tax relief is by using carry forward, if your circumstances allow. High earners with reduced annual allowances may still be able to benefit from the carry forward rule:
The government has significantly reduced the lifetime allowance over the past decade. For the 2021/22 tax year, the lifetime allowance is £1,073,000 – if your pension pot exceeds this amount when you start taking from your pension you may have to pay a charge
If you’re a high earner and you’ve been contributing to your pensions for a while, it’s possible that you may now be close to the lifetime allowance. If this is the case for you, you may want to speak to a financial adviser sooner rather than later to work out what to do with your pension pots.
To find out if you have a reduced annual allowance for the tax year, you need to work out your threshold income and adjusted income. In broad terms, your threshold income is your total taxable income excluding pension contributions, while your adjusted income is your total taxable income including all pension contributions.
Your total taxable income usually includes:
To calculate your threshold income for a specific tax year, take your total taxable income, add any salary you’ve sacrificed for pension contributions, and subtract any personal pension contributions.
If your threshold income for the year is £200,000 or less, your annual allowance won’t be reduced.
If your threshold income is more than £200,000, you need to work out if your adjusted income is more than £240,000 to see if your annual allowance is affected.
To calculate your adjusted income, take your taxable income for the year, add employer pension contributions and subtract any reliefs that apply.
If your adjusted income works out to be more than £240,000, you will have a tapered annual allowance for that tax year: for every £2 of adjusted income over £240,000, your annual allowance will decrease by £1.
| Adjusted income | Tapered annual allowance |
|---|---|
£250,000 | £35,000 |
£260,000 | £30,000 |
£270,000 | £25,000 |
£280,000 | £20,000 |
£290,000 | £15,000 |
£300,000 | £10,000 |
£310,000 | £5,000 |
£312,000 | £4,000 |
The minimum tapered allowance is £4,000, so if your adjusted income is more than £312,000, you still will have an annual allowance of £4,000.
If you’re a high earner but you’re not sure whether the tapered annual allowance applies to you, you may want to speak to one of our financial advisers.
As with all investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio with Nutmeg can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. A pension may not be right for everyone and tax rules may change in the future. If you are unsure if a pension is right for you, please seek financial advice. Please note that during any transfer, your investments will be out of the market.